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OPEN ROAD 19
WHAT’S NEW IN
NEW ENGLAND
WHAT’S NEW IN NEW ENGLAND? Well, rain for one thing.
Thanks to recent showers the hillsides have a green tinge,
although as we cross creeks that are nothing but creek beds,
it’s evident the big dry is still in effect.
“ We call this the ‘green drought’,” says Barry Harley from
Tamworth Regional Council, who’s hard at work organising the
next Tamworth Country Music Festival (January 18-27).
Celebrating its 47th year in 2019, the festival has raised the
town’s profile beyond being Australia’s ‘country music capital’.
“ More hotels were built [around the festival],” Barry explains,
“and then because they were there, there were more places for
people to stay other times of the year.”
This has drawn greater investment from developers and
entrepreneurs, giving tourists further reasons to visit. The
last time my wife and I were in Tamworth was for the premiere
of the film Charlie & Boots (2009). We stopped in at the local
wildlife park and, as a pair of animal lovers, expected it to
be a highlight. A short while later, we left feeling a touch
embarrassed for Tamworth but, on this occasion in September
2018, we pass through the steel gates and find the park
transformed. In addition to its marsupials and birdlife, there’s
now a lavish ‘adventure playground’, with a flying fox, a
huge castle with bridges and slides, musical contraptions
and much more. We arrive late and have just half an hour
before the park closes for the day. I don’t know who’s more
disappointed, the kids or us!
“ Several hundred volunteers gave their time up to build all
those bits and pieces [in the park],” explains Barry over a coffee
the next morning. “It was funded by the council, but the labour
was provided by what turned out to be several hundred people.
You had accountants and lawyers and that sort of thing giving
up a few hours with a Ryobi, drilling a few holes or what have
you. It’s quite an extraordinary achievement.”
We find another reason to visit Tamworth out the back of the
famous Big Golden Guitar. The new owner has devoted
Moree
Narrabri
Glen Innes
Armidale
Uralla
Inverell
Gunnedah
Tamworth
Goonoo Goonoo
Willow Tree
OR1118_RT_New England_v2.indd 19
18/10/18 12:11 pm